New England Patriots Links 4/29/14 - Third-and-Long a Sad Song For Pats' Defense

TEAM TALK

• 2014 Patriots Mock Draft Tracker.
• PFW Draft Prospect Rankings: Quarterbacks.
• Draft Prospect Review (4/28) - A break down of the top defensive backs in the 2014 NFL Draft and look at who the team could target. (16.03 min. program)

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Reiss notes Rob Ninkovich is well aware of the problems the Patriots defense has had in third-and-long situations.
• Field Yates gleans some Patriots nuggets from the latest installment of Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay's Draft podcast.
• Nick Underhill breaks down the Patriots' roster by round drafted.
• Phil Perry takes a look at a few of the team's wheelings and dealings during the Bill Belichick era.
• Ben Volin discusses the few pluses and many minuses of this year's two-week delayed Draft.
• Jeff Howe posts the transcript of his latest Twitter Q&A: Belichick's strategy on picking or not picking a first-rounder.
• Field Yates catches us up on some contract notes and picked up pieces for the Patriots.
• ESPNBoston Draft roundtable assesses Vince Wilfork's health and upcoming role. (1.39 min. video)
• ESPNBoston Draft roundtable looks at potential selections for the Patriots at defensive end. (7.14 min. video)
• Nick Underhill looks at Draft Day 3 sleepers: Safeties.
• Phil Perry turns his Draft focus to the rest of the AFC East.
• Mike Reiss discusses Bill Parcells' polarizing candidacy to the Pats' Hall of Fame.
• Gary Dzen posts a tweet from Tom Brady's Twitter alter ego with every game on the 2014 schedule circled as a win - even the Bye.  /Prioris is that you?
  
• Jeff Howe highlights draft prospects who could land with the Patriots at No. 29: WR Davante Adams (Fresno State).
• Tom E. Curran checks out prospects the Patriots may consider in the first round: CB Bradley Roby (Ohio State).
• WEEI profiles potential Patriots in this year's draft: LB Carl Bradford (Arizona State), CB Terrance Mitchell (Oregon) and DT Dominique Easley (Florida).

NATIONAL NEWS

• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Rob Ninkovich: Belichick is great, just don't ask him dumb questions.
• The Sports Xchange (Yahoo! Sports) NFL Draft preview: Patriots punch up pass defense.
• Eric Edholm (Yahoo! Sports) Why Bill Belichick probably will draft Vanderbilt offensive lineman Wesley Johnson.
• James Christensen (Bleacher Report) Realistic Draft-Day Trade Possibilities for the New England Patriots.
• Nick Kostos (Bleacher Report) Breaking down every NFL team's Draft tendencies.  Patriots here.
• Jason La Canfora (CBS Sports) 2014 NFL Draft: Best front offices know value of racking up comp picks.
• Scott Kacsmar (Football Outsiders) 2013 Quarterbacks: True sack rate.
• Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Monday Musings: Ten draft fits plus Bradford, Dalton, rants & raves.
• Peter King (The MMQB) Tuesday Mailbag.
• Don Banks (SI) Patriots one-minute Draft preview. (1 min. clip)
• Aaron Wilson (Nat'l Football Post) Source: Clemson WR Martavis Bryant worked out for Patriots, others.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) 2011 first-round picks' fifth-year options.
• Kevin Patra (NFL.com) Seahawks make Earl Thomas NFL's highest-paid safety.
• Greg Gabriel (Nat'l Football Post) Draft top 5: Defensive tackles.
• Mike Mayock (NFL.com) Position rankings for 2014 NFL Draft.
• Eric Edholm (Yahoo! Sports) NFL Draft Rankings: Wide receiver crop might be best in nearly 20 years.
• Greg Gabriel (Nat'l Football Post) Who's number one? (and who should be): Beyond the hype, is the real prize of the draft on your radar?
• Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News) NFL Draft 2014: Five prospects who are May 8's safest picks.
• Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) Four 2014 NFL Draft question marks.
• Jerry Angelo (Nat'l Football Post) Developing the quarterback position.
• Tony Villiotti (Nat'l Football Post) Combine all-stars: What would a team made up of the best measurables look like?
• Zack Cox (Fox Sports) High-tech hats: NFL Draft lids will feature light-sensitive brim.
• Andrew Perloff (SI) Experts outline 12 rules for creating a respectable NFL mock draft.
• Mike Tanier, Dan Pompei and Russ Lande (Sports on Earth) Mock Draft, mach three. Pats pick DT Dominique Easley (Miami), DL Ra'Shede Hageman (Minnesota) or DE Scott Chrichton (Oregon State).
• Charity Auction (Charitybuzz.com) Meet Tom Brady & Bill Belichick at Training Camp, Tickets to game; More. To benefit RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights.